This is why Barclays trader got R7.9m pay package

INTERNATIONAL - The twelve jurors deciding the fate of Barclays Plc and Deutsche Bank AG traders accused of criminally rigging interest-rate benchmarks got a lesson Friday on why one of the men had an annual pay of more than $634,000 when he was hired in 2005.

Paul Exall, who oversees bonus allocation at Barclays’ investment bank, told the jury in a London court that profits aren’t the only factor when it comes to allocating bonuses. The board considers several factors: the level of risk a unit was exposed to, the market trends, feedback from shareholders, input from external remuneration experts, and the banking industry’s performance as a whole, to name a few, he said.

Philippe Moryoussef is one of the five traders charged with trying to manipulate the euro interbank offered rate, or Euribor, between 2005 and 2009 to help their trading positions. As a Barclays trader, he had an annual salary of 100,000 pounds ($135,610) and a guaranteed 2005 bonus of 367,500 pounds, prosecutor Dominic Lewis said. Moryoussef was also given a 5,500-pound car allowance, and stock awards, which he lost when he left the bank in 2007, he said.

Bob Diamond, who was the head of the Barclays investment bank during the time, was responsible for remuneration within the unit, once the board had made its allocation, Exall said.

“It’s a lengthy process that takes, from end to end, three months sometimes,” Exall said. “There is a robust process. There are several tiers of management.”

The five defendants deny the allegations. Moryoussef has chosen not to appear for the trial and doesn’t have a lawyer representing him. A sixth, Christian Bittar, pleaded guilty before the trial started last month.